Serbia increasingly interesting to German companies – Investors worried about lack of qualified workforce

German companies in Serbia are facing a lack of qualified workforce more and more, Michael Harms, Managing Director of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, said on Tuesday, May 29, 2018, and pointed out the excellent development of the economic relations of Germany and Serbia, as well as the fact that Serbia was becoming an increasingly interesting location for investments.

As part of the visit of the business delegation headed by Harms, the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Serbia) organized a discussion about new challenges in Serbia's further economic development, and Harms announced that the delegation would point to the need for better qualification of workforce in Serbia in talks with representatives of Serbian authorities.

– We've been told by German companies operating in Serbia that it is noticeable that qualified workforce is decreasing – he said and added that the lack of qualified workforce was a topic regarding which close cooperation is planned.

As he says, the delegation he is leading, which consists of around 20 members, doesn't only feature representatives of large companies, but of medium companies as well, which is even more important.

He said that the economic relations of Germany and Serbia were excellent and that they were developing successfully, pointing out that the previous year had seen a growth by 12% in the trade.

Ambassador of Germany to Serbia Axel Dittmann reminded that over 400 companies operated in Serbia, which have created more than 45,000 jobs and invested more than EUR 2 billion, with the trend remaining positive.

The president of AHK Serbia, Ronald Seeliger, expressed satisfaction over the fact that this is the third visit of a business delegation from Germany to Serbia and added that over 140 bilateral talks had been had between companies up till then and that the German economy knew Serbia very well and that it was interested in it.

– We want quality jobs to be created and not just any kind of jobs, as this is the guarantee of the German economy's staying and being active in Serbia. I hope that I will soon be able to announce that we have created 50,000 jobs. I am convinced that, with these visits, we will be able to achieve this very soon – Seeliger said.

The regional director of the German pharmaceutical company Phoenix Pharma, Rajko Mandic, explained that the company had been present for 10 years in Serbia, that it employed 2,000 people, most of them with higher education, and that over EUR 80 million had been invested.

AHK Srbija

Delegacija Nemačke privrede u Srbiji AHK

Phoenix pharma d.o.o. Beograd

German Serbian Chamber of Commerce

AHK Serbia

Phoenix Pharma

German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations

Michael Harms

Axel Dittmann

Ronald Seeliger

economic cooperation of Germany and Serbia

investment of Germany in Serbia

Hemofarm

Rajko Mandic

trade between Germany and Serbia